Lawyers for Mikhail Khodorkovsky filed two additional appeals in connection with charges relating to NIUIF and the special tax zone Lesnoy.

The Lesnoy appeal states that “…the court unlawfully and without any grounds found Khodorkovsky guilty under Articles 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.” The appeal unequivocally asserts:

1. No theft, i.e. illegal uncompensated seizure of a third party’s property to the benefit of the defendant and at the expense of the owner, has been perpetrated by anyone, because:

A) in effect, taxes were overpaid;
B) overpayment was made in monetary instruments (redeemed promissory notes), and the documents which support this fact have not been refuted by the court or invalidated by any other agency;
C) under Article 78 of the Tax Code, the overpayment margin was to be returned;
D) no losses, particularly the incorrectly calculated ones, were inflicted on the state;
E) no one committed any fraudulent acts.

2. Khodorkovsky’s involvement in all the events covered by these charges has been disproved. The case file contains no evidence that would point to an organized group that purportedly committed the fraud.

3. Furthermore, the legal evaluation of the actions imputed to the defendant contradicts Article 10 of the CC, i.e. the court has applied the law on criminal acts erroneously.

Regarding the NIUIF charges, the attorneys believe that “the part of the sentence that declares Khodorkovsky guilty of defrauding NIUIF is unlawful and groundless and should be annulled; the criminal proceedings against Khodorkovsky under these charges should be terminated because:

A) the evidence was procured in gross violation of the law, and criminal proceedings for these charges were not backed by a criminal lawsuit;
B) the instance of fraud as well as constituent elements of this offense are missing;
C) Khodorkovsky’s involvement in any activities related to the transfer of title to the said stake in NIUIF from the RFPF (acting on behalf of the state) to AOZT Wallton has not been established.”